Winking, he protests he doesn’t have an accent as it’s been 60 years since he arrived as a ‘ten-pound Pom’. He’s spent most of that time living in the back of his beloved Land Cruiser, ‘Troopy’, or in one of several caravans he’s called home.

It’s meant he’s lived in many parts of the State, beginning as a teacher at Huonville High School, then moving on to La Trobe and even having a stint on King Island.

Mike had been living interstate until about a year ago, but he felt the pull of his family, and the two young teenagers who could benefit from the love and support of their granddad, he returned to Tassie. He’s been helping teach them to drive and proudly notes that they both passed their tests this week.

It was the river flooding adjacent to the caravan park where he was living that found him in search of a place to call his own and a roof over his head.

“I wasn’t happy there and with climate change and the park was so close to the river, I wanted to get out.

Mike is a man of quick wit and intelligence and admits he’s a bit cheeky.

“I’m not a good swimmer, so I had to get out before the caravan park flooded. It still hasn’t re-opened until this day,” he said.

Mike applied for social housing at Housing Connect, Tasmania’s front door for housing assistance.

“Cate from Wintringham suggested I have a look at this unit”.

“I had my sheets and personal belongings and that was about it. I’d been living in a caravan, so I didn’t have a fridge or washing machine. I ended up buying them from the previous tenant,” Mike said.

“It’s 100 per cent better than living in a caravan. I remember having to use the amenities building in the rain, in winter and in the middle of the night. It is luxury compared to that.”

Tasmania has the highest proportion of older people in Australia with 34.4 per cent of people aged 55 and over compared with the national average of 29.1 per cent.

Homes Tasmania engages Wintringham to provide support and tenancy management to five unit complexes in southern Tasmania and an aged residential facility. With an additional $20 million in funding, Homes Tasmania is working with Wintringham to expand this service into the North and North West. Tenants pay 25 per cent of their income plus Commonwealth Rent Assistance and have long-term leases.

“I don’t have to think about rent. Wintringham helped me set up a direct deposit from my Centrelink pension,” Mike said.

“I’m happy here. I imagine I’ll be living here forever.”